John Paul Jones

John Paul Jones

LOVE AND THEFT
Led Zep Bassist John Paul Jones Follows His Own Muse on The Thunderthief
Quiet to the point of translucence in the storm that was Led Zeppelin, bassist John Paul Jones was part and parcel of some of the band's more adventurous music making, adding Celtic riffing here, introspective piano interludes there, and serving as the chief arranger of the more complex structures in Zepdom. Since the band's split, Jones has stayed away from the multiple reunions, instead concentrating on collaborations with avant spirits as varied as Diamanda Galás and the Butthole Surfers, and quietly building a solo catalogue of his own. The latest addition, The Thunderthief, is more upbeat and conventionally -- if artily -- rock than anything Jones has done in quite a spell. While Jones goes it alone on most of the disc, guests including Robert Fripp and Peter Blegvad do lend a hand. The witty, urbane multi-instrumentalist put down his guitar long enough to discuss The Thunderthief with Barnes & Noble's David Sprague.

Barnes & Noble.com: With the exception of a few guest appearances, you worked essentially solo on The Thunderthief, right?

John Paul Jones: Yes. I like to amass material and not do anything with it until what I see as the appropriate moment. It may take a while longer to record and mix and do it all alone. A group situation can be great, and I've done a lot of that. But prior to working in a group setting, I worked a lot as an arranger and a producer, and I like that solitary approach.

B&N.com: So do you discipline yourself, punch a clock, and the like?

JPJ: To me, the most creative times are the times when you aren't creating -- the times when you're just sitting with an instrument or a pen, and things might start to happen. If you try too hard, nothing happens. I'm not sure of the difference between right brain and left brain, but if you keep the one that interferes busy, things end up working all right.

B&N.com: This was your first venture into singing: How did you approach that?

JPJ: I knew I wanted to do something very different than [1999's] Zooma, and my first inclination was to use some computer voices to add a little bit of personality. After a while, I thought, This is silly, and I decided to use my own voice. Rather than try to learn singing and lyric writing at the same time, I approached a friend of mine, Peter Blegvad, and asked if he had any extra lyrics, and he agreed. I had final say, so anything dreadful was erased, and what came out was not bad. It ain't Pavarotti and it ain't Plant, but I think it's all right.

B&N.com: Eventually, you did come to write some of the lyrics for the album.

JPJ: Which was a great surprise to me. I was a decent enough student and all, but when you put a pen and paper in my hand, it has quite a paralyzing effect. So I never wrote anything down. Then when we got email, I found it quite enjoyable to write email to people and became very verbose. I tried translating that to writing for the album and found things came very quickly. Still, you have to avoid listening to things like say, Dylan: You'll get scared right off if you do that.

B&N.com: Could you envision being part of a group again?

JPJ: Absolutely not. I've always said, and I do believe it, that I was in the best group in the world. When you're working with a group, everything becomes carved in stone far too soon. Even with the label, nothing is so carved [in stone]. There are no contracts, just handshakes, and that's really nice. And it's not even impractical, as some might think. Nick [Beggs] and I can approximate the London Bloody Philharmonic if called upon to, and it sounds pretty bloody authentic.

B&N.com: Do you go reflect on your older work very much?

JPJ: I will listen to it if it comes on. If I'm trying to remember how to get a particular bass line, I may go back and listen to a song from the box set and end up listening to the whole album, thinking, That sounds interesting&. It's fresher after ten years.

B&N.com: You have a civil relationship with your former bandmates?

JPJ: Oh, you must. We discuss all sorts of things, and nothing's changed. We're the worst on decision making. We'll have a meeting to discuss giving away some audio rights, and then six months later, someone will call someone else and say, "What was that meeting about again?"

March 21, 2002